Somewhere in a foreign land lies an old temple, guarded only by elderly monks who pray to a large statue every day. The statue looks innocent enough, a mere angel looking towards the sky. But it's what the angel is holding that holds significance. A medallion engraved with a flame colliding with ice. Today was no different, as a monk kneeled before the angel and prayed. But a sudden sound made him pause. Looking up, his eyes widened at seeing a single, miniscule crack in the medallion. As fast as his aged bones would allow, he ran through the temple, stopping in front of a large door with the same markings as the medallion. Without hesitation he burst through, looking around for the two inhabitants. A man wearing an elegant red kimono, and another man in blue, kneeled on two cushions sipping tea. They looked up in surprise at the sudden interruption.
"Forgive my rudeness, but it's happening again! The time has come to find the fated ones who can seal the beast!" He cried, struggling to catch his breath. The two men stood abruptly and shared a glance, nodding somberly before rushing to the statue.
"He speaks the truth. It has been another century, we must hurry." The man in blue said, eyes focused on the solitary crack in stone.
"Should we call upon a guild? There is one in particular who I think can help." The red-clad man said, looking to his partner knowingly. They both nodded, knowing for certain this guild had just what they needed and would never turn down someone in need.
"Renzou, send notice to the Fairy Tail guild at once, please. I believe they are the only ones who can help."
"Yes, sir, right away." The monk nodded, quickly rushing away as the two gazed at the statue. The crack grew ever so slightly.
"Kasai.." The man in blue muttered, hardly believing his eyes.
"I know, Shiro, something's not right. It's breaking at an alarming rate, much faster than last time. We'll need two strong mages if we want to seal it again." Kasai said, glancing over when his partner remained quiet. "What is it?"
He hesitated, and then said, "You're sure about this guild? How do you know they have what we need?"
"You doubt me?" He asked with a glare, "Fairy Tail is a well-known guild, even in our country. I've heard much about them, very good things mind you, and are positive they have everything we need and more."
"Che..so grumpy, like always."
"What did you say?!"
The guild was oddly quiet today as most people were lulled by the air of utter boredness. Hardly any decent jobs had come in and the ones that did were taken immediately. A handful of people were gone, making the guild quieter. Among the few people still there was Team Natsu in its entirety, all of whom couldn't believe they weren't on a job. A certain blonde Celestial Spirit mage in particular was on the verge of a break down.
"I have to pay rent this month, how am I supposed to do that with no money!?" She yelled, pacing around like a woman gone mad. The rest of her team sat at a table, watching dully at her antics.
"Quit yappin' already, you're loud." Natsu said, Happy giving an "Aye" in agreement. The blonde whipped around angrily, giving Natsu one of her many interesting faces.
"You're calling me loud?! Most of the time you don't shut up!" She retaliated, becoming annoyed at her team's bleak expressions. Even Erza was silent, content with eating her strawberry cake and shutting out the world.
"She's right Natsu, you're pretty annoying." Gray added, doing his best to avoid Juvia who was staring intently at him from the bar. He really wanted a job not for money, but to get away from the rain woman.
"Shut it popsicle, nobody asked you." Natsu growled, sending a glare towards his rival. Gray returned the glare with full force, getting ready for the inevitable fight this would lead to. "It's not my fault you suck so much, stupid flame-brain."
"At least I don't suck as much as you, droopy-eyed bastard!" Natsu raised his voice, fists clenching at his sides. It wasn't long before they were standing in front of each other, glaring menacingly and firing insults like ammo. It was the most excitement anyone had gotten all day. Little did they know it was about to get ruined.
"Oh yeah, slanty-eyes?! Prove it then!"
"I will you damn ice cube!"
"Quit standing there then and do something, pyromaniac!" Gray yelled, and just as Natsu was about to throw the first punch a giant hand came down on them, effectively stopping the fight and squishing them into the ground. Everyone looked up to the second floor where Master Makarov stood, a serious expression on his face.
"Natsu, Gray, I need to speak with you. The rest of you may come along as well." Makarov said, referring to Lucy, Erza and Happy. The five made their way to Makarov's office and waited to see what he had to say. Needless to say they were all curious. On a day like this, there weren't many reasons to get called into the Master's office.
"What's the problem, Master?" Erza was the first to break the silence, standing between Natsu and Gray to keep them quiet.
"This morning I received a flyer from a temple in Bosco asking for our help, specifically Natsu and Gray's." He began with a somewhat grim expression. The two boys perked up at this, wondering why they were needed.
"Bosco? Why would they ask us for help?" Erza asked, feeling more suspicious by the second. Getting requests from other country's wasn't too unusual, but they were usually S-class.
"There's a temple high in the mountains that guards a sacred medallion. It's actually a seal to keep the demon Behemoth away. Every century this seal needs refreshed, but it requires two opposing forces to do so."
"I see, so that's why they need Natsu and Gray." Erza said, beginning to put the pieces together. But it still seemed like something was missing.
"A demon? This sounds scary.." Lucy said softly, wondering why she had to go along too. "This sounds like an S-class job." She added. The Master nodded.
"Indeed it is, which is why Erza is going with you. The temple requested that only a small team goes, so nobody else but you five is allowed. They don't have much time before the seal breaks, so I want you to leave by tonight. Bosco borders Magnolia so getting there won't take that long. However the only way to get to the temple is by foot. It will take a few days to finally reach them."
"Master, you're not telling us something." Erza said, knowing the short man too well. He sighed and glanced away, knowing this would be the hardest part.
"I was going to let them tell you..but I suppose it's better to give you a heads up. Natsu, Gray, your magic is the only force that can stop this demon. It is crucial that you do what they tell you. However..in order for it to work, the mages must be in complete sync with each other. You have to work together perfectly or else it won't seal anything. In order to do this, you two must be bonded."
"Bonded..?" Natsu repeated slowly, not quite grasping the concept. Gray however wasn't taking it so lightly.
"How the hell are we supposed to bond? We hate each other! I'm never in sync with this idiot, and we definitely don't work together. Why do they need us anyways? I'm sure there are other mages whose magic is opposite."
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice. They don't have time to look for other mages, and we can't turn them down. Fairy Tail helps those in need. If this demon were to break free it would be a catastrophe. It's not called Behemoth for nothing. They have a certain ritual to bond two mages, and actually, they have two retired mages living there who have gone through the same thing. They use fire and ice magic as well. So maybe they can help since this surely won't be easy." The Master finished explaining, looking at Natsu who was oddly quiet. He expected more of a fight. "Natsu? What do you think?"
The boy paused for a moment, looking conflicted, but eventually that fiery determination came back. "I'm not happy about it either, but these people asked us for help and I won't let them down. If I have to deal with the Ice Princess for a little while then so be it."
"Why you little-"
"Thank you Master, we'll begin packing immediately." Erza interrupted, seeing another fight coming on. At this point they didn't have any time to dawdle, this was serious. If that demon were to break free it could destroy all of Bosco and eventually Fiore. She wouldn't allow that to happen.
"See to it then, and don't waste any time. They're offering a good reward so be on your best behavior!"
"Yes, Master!" They said in unison, scurrying down to the first floor so they can go their separate ways and pack. The short man watched them go, smiling at their anxiousness. He knew they would get the job done, but there would be plenty of complications.
"Those boys don't know what they're in for." He chuckled, glancing at the long note the temple had sent him. He did leave out one very important detail, since he knew neither Natsu nor Gray would agree to it. They will have to bond, but it meant more than just "dealing with each other." They would be bonded by their very souls and be forever attached until they die. It was actually a very intimate ritual, one he was sure they would hate. But they didn't have a choice.
If they didn't go through with it, the demon could destroy all of Earth Land.
So yeah..started another fic when I have three unfinished ones. Good job me -_- But I haven't focused on Gratsu in forever, and this idea won't leave me alone. It's gonna get pretty intense later on. I mean, the world's fate depends on these two essentially falling in love. Those aren't very good odds O_O But it'll work out, eventually. I figured the only logical way these two could ever end up together is if the world depended on it and they had no choice. Pretty messed up but..meh. Still Gratsu eventually.
